SAM: Learning Linux System Administration

After more than twenty years on UNIX systems, it seems like the right time to begin a guide to Linux systems administration, and what better place than on MangoLassi where we can make it into a living, growing document.

An Introduction: Why Linux System Administration

• Linux: Collected Educational Resources
• Why Desktops Are Not a Good Learning Tool
• Avoid the Raspberry Pi for Learning Linux Server Administration
• Linux: What is a Distro
• Choosing a Linux Distribution for Business
• What Is UNIX, and How Does Linux Fit In
• What Makes Something a Linux OS
• Why Does Open Source Matter
• Understanding Linux Release Schedules
• Understanding the Relationships of Red Hat's RHEL, CentOS and Fedora Distributions
• Understanding the Suse Distributions Suse Linux, OpenSuse Leap and OpenSuse Tumbleweed
• Understanding the Debian and Ubuntu Linux Distributions
• Linux Architectural Variety
• Linux and Virtualization
• From Windows to UNIX: Monolithic to Modular Design

Basics of Linux Administration

Getting Our Hands Dirty: Learning Our Way Around

• Installing Our First Linux Operating System for Learning Systems Administration
• Linux: The Lay of the Land, Filesystem Hierarchy Standard
• Accessing a Linux Server using SSH
• Linux: Working with Files
• From Windows to UNIX: File Extensions
• From Windows to UNIX: Case Sensitivity
• Linux: File Colors
• Linux: Standard Command Structures
• Linux: Aliases
• Linux: Basic Working with Text Files
• Linux: Finding Files
• From Windows to UNIX: Text File Formats
• Linux: Symbolically Linking Files
• UNIX: Users and Groups
  • UNIX: The root user
  • UNIX: The /etc/passwd File in Depth
  • UNIX: The /etc/group File in Depth
  • UNIX: The /etc/shadow File in Depth
  • Linux: Tools for Managing Local Users
  • Linux: Tools for Managing Local Groups
  • UNIX: Switching Users with su
  • UNIX: sudo
  • UNIX: The sudoers file
• UNIX: Basic File Permissions
  • UNIX: File Permission Octets
• UNIX: Extended File Permissions and Attributes
• UNIX: Everything is a File (Descriptor)
• Linux: Shells
• System Administration: Standard Tools
• UNIX: Path
• Linux: Home Directories
• Linux: Common Filesystems
  • From Windows to Linux: Filesystem Culture
• Linux: Text Editing
• UNIX: X Windows and the Graphical Desktop

Packages and Installation

• From Windows to Linux: Installation Culture
• Linux: Software Installation
  Red Hat and the RPM World
  * Linux: RPM Package Management
  • Linux: Querying with RPM
  • Linux: Installing with RPM
  • Linux: Uninstalling with RPM

* [Linux: YUM Package Management](http://mangolassi.it/topic/8629)
  * Linux: YUM Repositories
  * [Linux: Installing with YUM](http://mangolassi.it/topic/8799/)
  * [Linux: Updating with YUM](http://mangolassi.it/topic/8800/)
  * [Linux: What is the EPEL](https://mangolassi.it/topic/12046/)
* Linux: DNF Package Management

Debian, Ubuntu and the DEB World
* Linux: Installing with APT
Installing from a Tarball
* UNIX: What Is a Tarball

General Administration Tasks

• Linux: Finding What Distro We Are Using
• Linux FAQ: Why Do We Need a Dot Slash Before a Local Command
• Scheduling with cron
• Scheduling with at
• Linux: File Compression Utilities
• Linux: Using tar
• Linux: Zip and 7Zip

Storage and Filesystems

• System Administration: Filesystems
• System Administration: Clustered Filesystems
• Linux: Checking Filesystem Usage with df
• Linux: Directory Utilization with du
  • Linux: Looking for Large Folders with du
  • Linux: Why are df and du Showing Me Different Things?
  • Sparse Files and lastlog
• Linux: Disk Devices
• Linux: Working with Disks, fdisk and parted
• Linux: Creating a Filesystem
• Linux: Mounting Filesystems
• Linux: The Role of the Logical Volume Manager (LVM)
  • Linux: Working with LVM
  • Linux: Extended LVM Reporting Commands
  • Linux Practicum: Adding a Second Storage Drive on CentOS 7 with LVM and XFS
  • Linux Practicum: Removing an LVM Configuration on CentOS 7
• Linux: The Role of MD Software RAID
• Linux: MD Software RAID
• Linux: The Role of DRBD
• Linux: BtrFS
  • Linux Practicum: Adding a Second Storage Device on CentOS 7 with BtrFS
• UNIX: ZFS
• System Administration: Network Filesystems
  • Linux: NFS
    • Linux Practicum: Creating a Simple NFS Server
    • Linux Practicum: Mounting a Simple NFS Share
  • Linux: SMB

Networking

• Linux: Network Bonding and Teaming

Memory and Swap

• Linux: Swap Space and Files
• Linux: Creating Swap
• Linux: Swappiness Behavior

Monitoring and Analysis

• Linux: Using uptime to understand load
• Linux: Using free to view memory usage
• Linux: Using top to view instantaneous performance
• Linux: SAR

System Administration Tasks

• System Administration: Backups

Linux Special Tools

• Linux: Special Tools Outside of the Mainstream
  • Netdata - Local Data Analytics with Cloud Interface
• Linux: Special Tools for Command Line Performance Viewing

Linux Why?

• UNIX: Why Does Root Get a Special Home Directory

BASH Basics

• BASH: if else Constructs
• BASH: case Constructs

Advanced Topics

DRBD

• Linux Command References

@iroal said:

Great Idea !!

Thanks. Going to take a while to build up the content, but there are lots of people that have been asking for it. I think it will be well received.

@hobbit666 said:

Question on this. Would you choose a distro that your not familiar with but know it will work and do the job for what you need?? i.e. FOG imaging server?

That is very common. I often recommend that you use the "distro of best choice for the project", but have company standards for when that is irrelevant.

To some degree, as a company grows, the value of "right for the project" compared to "standardized administration" begins to shift. So the real answer is "it depends".

And of course, within reason. I use CentOS, OpenSuse and Ubuntu pretty freely depending on the use case. If I am starting from scratch, I won't use Ubuntu, but the other two pretty freely. If a project calls for something really odd like Arch or Gentoo as what is recommended, I will generally look for one of the major OSes instead if possible. Nothing wrong with those, but OS sprawl needs to be limited as well.

Added: http://mangolassi.it/topic/7827/why-does-open-source-matter

@hobbit666 Kubuntu is a weird one because it is specifically not a server distro. Ubuntu is general purpose, desktop and server, but Kubuntu is a specifically KDE based Ubuntu modification. So only exists for desktop usage by intent.

Just added: http://mangolassi.it/topic/7828/what-is-unix

Added: http://mangolassi.it/topic/7829/why-learn-linux-systems-administration

Added: http://mangolassi.it/topic/7832/overview-of-the-red-hat-linux-ecosystem

Added: http://mangolassi.it/topic/7837/linux-architectural-variety

@wrx7m I'm going to try. Hopefully soon we have enough to call this a real resource for learning.

Added: http://mangolassi.it/topic/7842/installing-our-first-linux-virtual-machine-for-learning-systems-administration

Added: http://mangolassi.it/topic/7865/accessing-a-linux-server-via-ssh